The 5 Best Password Managers for CPAs

John Lehman

Jan 26, 2018

When you work with sensitive data, it’s in your best interest to take all precautions necessary to protect your accounts—especially when it comes to creating strong and unique passwords. Of course, remembering multiple complex passwords can be a logistical nightmare. Thankfully, there are password managers that can remember your complicated login credentials so you don’t have to.

Below, we’ve listed our five favorite password management tools that have the best features for CPAs.

LastPass

From its simple interface to its cross-platform compatibility, variety of features, and price point, it’s no wonder why LastPass is consistently ranked by tech journalists as the best password manager available today.

Price: Free – $48 per year

Why it’s good for CPAs: LastPass is a fantastic option for firms with various computer competency levels. Its options as both a browser plug-in and mobile app make it not only available on multiple platforms but also incredibly easy to use, while still offering plenty of advanced features for more tech-savvy CPAs.

Nearly as lauded as LastPass, Dashlane has a user-friendly design and is regularly updated with new features. One of the stand-out features of Dashlane is its ability to change passwords on hundreds of your managed accounts at once without needing to leave the application or plug-in.

Price: Free – $48 per year

Why it’s good for CPAs: CPAs who enjoy all-in-one solutions will find Dashlane appealing. Going beyond just passwords, it can also safely store credit card numbers, scanned identification cards, billing addresses, and many other forms of personal information.

Designed for more advanced users, KeePass is the only password manager on our list that’s 100 percent free of charge, and the only one that’s not cloud-based—all data is stored locally on your machine while taking up as little space as possible. The software can even be run from a flash drive.

Price: Free (funded through donations)

Why it’s good for CPAs: CPAs who are uncomfortable storing their private data on cloud-based systems will enjoy KeePass’s locally-hosted design. If you’d prefer having complete control over your password storage, KeePass is for you.

Keeper Security is one of the oldest and most widely used password management tools on the market. In fact, there’s a chance you might already have a copy of it. Many of the latest laptops, desktops, and smartphones have the free version of the software pre-loaded and ready to use.

Price: Free – $59.99 per year

Why it’s good for CPAs: Arguably, Keeper is the most secure cloud-based password manager on the market. It avoids providing the more convenient features of its competitors, such as one-click password changes or PIN logins, viewing such conveniences as unsafe. CPAs who want security above all else should choose Keeper.

If monthly payments for your password manager don’t sound appealing, Enpass might be right up your alley. It’s available on desktop platforms for free, with a one-time charge of $9.99 to unlock premium features for the smartphone version.

Price: Free – $9.99 (one-time fee)

Why it’s good for CPAs: Enpass provides great value for small to mid-size CPA firms, whose smaller staffs can use all of its features on the go for free. It can store data in the cloud, as well as locally like KeePass (but with a more user-friendly interface), giving you the best of both worlds.